First Lady Mistakenly Calls Herself ‘Single Mother’

First Lady Michelle Obama plants the White House Kitchen Garden with school children for the fifth year in a row, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington D.C.

First Lady Michelle Obama mistakenly referred to herself as a “single mother” in an interview Thursday with a Vermont television station.

Mrs. Obama caught the mistake and quickly corrected herself.

“Believe me as a busy single mother — or I shouldn’t say single, as a busy mother – sometimes when you’ve got [a] husband who’s president it can feel a little single. But he’s there,” Mrs. Obama told WCAX-TV.

Mrs. Obama had invited students from Vermont and other states to the White House to plant vegetables in the garden on the south lawn. As first lady, she used the garden to call attention to the importance of healthy eating.

The interviewer had asked her about the dilemma faced by parents with busy schedules who may not have ready access to nutritious food.

In reply, Mrs. Obama said she sympathized. After the verbal slip, she described herself as a “busy working mom.” Before her family moved into the White House in 2009, she said, “I was in that position as well – working, driving kids to practice, not having enough time to shop or cook.”

The Obamas have two daughters: Malia,14, and Sasha, 11.

The president returned to the White House Thursday night from the San Francisco area, where he had attended fund-raising events following a gun control event in Denver the day before.

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